Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-08-12
piled on top of the engines. The number of
dead is estimated at two hundred and the

pulled the backs of the two seats before he
could get his wife OUT. She was bruised on
the body and had beth feet crushed His
shoulder was dislocsted. He had it pulled
into place as soon as he could get out of the
wreck.
ln helping others he put it out again and
had to have II pulled into place the second
time. There were nine persons in his party
and he can only hear of three so far. He
says he saw E. W. Stoddard hand boy out
to lady while he crawled back to get his
wife who was killed.
In the second coach was a man, wife and
little child The entire family was caught
and held down by the broken woodwor
When relief came the man turned feebly ana
SAID Take out my wife first, am afraid. my
child Is dead" They carried out the mother
As the broken seat was taken off her crushed
breast, the blood welled from her lips and
told how badly she was hurt. They carried
the child, fair haired, blue eyed girl of
three years, and laid her in the corn field,
dead, beside her dying mother They went
back for the father and brought him out
Both legs were broken. He crawled through
the corn to the side of his wife, feeling her
features in the darkness, pressed brandy to
her lips and asked her how she felt. fee
Bile grosn was the only answer. The next
instant she was dead. The man felt of the
dead forms of his wife and child and cried
out: MY God, there is nothing for me to
live for now" Taking a pistol from his
pocket he pulled the trigger and the bullet
went through his head. The three dead
bodies are now lying side by side in Chefs
worth, wanting to be Unidentified
CHICAGO, Aug. IL.
Times special from Forest, ILL.,, says:
Three miles east of Chatsw orth Is a little
slough, where the railroad crosses dry run
about one huHdred feet deep and fifteen feet
wide. Over this was stretched an ordinary
wooden trestle bridge and as the train came
laundering down the engineer saw that the
bridge was afre. There was no chance to
| stop. 1t would take half mile to stop the
train. As the first engine went over the
bridge beneath it was only the terrific speed
OF the train that saved the lives of the engin
eer and his fireman. The next engine went
down and the coaches piled on top of each
other IN the twinkling of an eye. Over 100
people net with instant death and fly more
were so hurt that they could live. There are
wounded everywhere. Only the sleeping
COACHES escaped. As the startled and half
dressed passengers came tumbliag out they
found such a scene of death as scarcely wit
messed. 1t lacked five minutes of midnight.
La the ditch lay the second engineer McCiin
tock, dead, and fireman Applegate badly in.
Jured. On these piles Of three baggage cars
the day coaches were telescoped as cars
never were before and three were pressed
into just space enough for one. The second
car had mounted off the trucks and crashed
through the car ahead crushing the wood
work, and lay resting on the tops of the seats
Every passenger in the front car was dead
or dying underneath. Out Of that car but
four people came alive.
On the top of the second car Law the third
the bottom smeared with the blood of the
victims. The other three cars were not so
badly crushed but were broken and twisted
in every conceivable shape.
Instantly the air was filled with the cries
of the wounded, the shreks of the dying and
above all was heard the agonizing cries of
little children az in some instances thew lay
pinned alongside of their parents. Another
terrible danger was the bridge still burning
as the wrecked cars were lying on and around
the blazing embers. Everywhere were
wounded and unhurt men, women and chill
dren whose lives depended on immediate ex.
trication. There was not drop of water
only some fifty able bodied men who still had
presence of mind and nerve enough to do
their duty. The light was the light of the
burning bridge. For four hours the men
fought like fiends. -Four hours the victory
hung in the balance The earth was the
only weapon and they had no shovel or pick
to dig it with. The desperate men dug their
fingers down in the earth which the drouih
had baked almost as hard as stone, and
heaped the precious handiuls upon the en-
croachng flames. Other brave men crouched
underneath the cars and beneath the fire
and with pieces of board and sometimes
their hands beat back the flames when they
flashed up alongside some of the unfortunstes
who were pinned down and finally victory
came. The fire was at last put out and as
the sparks died out then came one scene of
horror. Men had been dying constantly and
not so many wouu ded were taken out as four
hours before
The country had been aroused Help
came from Chatsworth, Forest and Piper
The dead were laid reverently slonside each
other in cornfelds. Ready hands bore the
wounded into Chatsworth and Piper City.
hundred and eighteen was the awful poll of
death The full tale can't be told for days.
Chatswo orth is turned into morgue The
town hall engine house, and depot are all
full of dead bodies and every house in the
village has a quota of wounded. Over 100
corpses are lying in the extemporized dead
house. Every man and woman il turned
into an amateur nurse. In the lumber yards
busy carpenters are making rough coffins to
carry the dead.
DR.. Steele, chief surgeon of the Toledo
Peoria Western road came on special
train and with him were two other surgeons
and assistants. Peoria sent four doctors
From every city whence excursionists came
were hurried physicians and friends. From
Peoria also came delegation of Red Men
and Ancient Order of workmen, members of
both societies being on the train.
Some band of miscreants began plundering
the dead from the first, taking even their
shoes.
The horrible. suspicion exists that the acci-
dent was deliberately planned, and the bridge
fred by miscreants for the purposes of rob.
berry. The fiends went into the cars when
the fire was burning iercely underneath and
when the poor wretches pinned there were
begging them for Gods sake to help them out
and stripped them of their wa ches and Jew
elry and searched their pockets for money.
When the dead bodie. we're laid out in the
cornfieids the hyenas turned them over in
their search for valuable. as was proved this
morning, as in the cornfeld sixteen purses,
all empty, were found in a heap.
Had the plunderers been caught they would
have been hung to the nearest tree.
Following is list Of the wounded as far
as identified:
E. w. Parker and wife, Peoria.
Mrs. Emma Regon and son, Peoria, slight
lv Injured